31 Days In… – hipflask

31 Days In…

A while ago in my meander around for events I came across this sweet little sketch of a heritage house. I’m a bit of a creep when it comes to old buildings & architecture so I had to find out who created it
– cue drum roll for 31 Days In.
Tim and Zoe are the souls behind this project, one portraying a city they are in through a sketch a day for a month – inspired by the places and people around them.
We will be featuring them in the future as they scoot around so keep an eye out.

How did you guys meet/how did you get from Wellington to Perth?
Zoe and I met in 2010 while we were both living and working in Chile; I was teaching English, and Zoe was doing some children’s theatre work. We both love travelling, and we’ve been to quite a few countries together since then. As our families are based in Wellington and Perth, we always make sure to get home regularly and be with them for a good amount of time, and being in Perth has also worked out well with Zoe’s studies. Perth is beautiful, as is Western Australia (though it’s too big to see all of it in 31 days), especially in Spring and early-Summer before it gets too hot to even leave the house.

How did you come up with the 31 days in concept?
While we were in Barcelona in August 2015, we saw a lot of travellers passing through and it made me think how different each person’s impression of the city could be. I wanted to capture the essence of the place, which locals and travellers could immediately relate to and remind them of their experiences there. 31 days in a city or country is a good amount of time to really get to know a place, so the 31 days concept came to life. We got a great response to our 31 days in Barcelona (including from Catalonian locals who said they loved seeing the city and surrounds from a new angle), and 31 days in Western Australia has been amazing, so we plan on continuing the idea wherever we travel to.

Do you have a favourite?
I like the little snapshots of Western Australian life that do not necessarily feature iconic landmarks. My favourite is Day 29: Before the harvest, which is near Kalannie but could really be anywhere in the Wheatbelt. Zoe’s favourite is Day 25: A seagull stole my chip, which is a struggle facing Western Australian kids every day on beaches all over the state.

Obviously the world around you inspires you, but what do you look out for in your environment specifically?
I’d like people to look at each picture and remember their own little stories about a place or person or experience, so capturing the energy and essence of an environment is key. For example, the heritage house on Day 18 got an interesting response from people – we were asked if the house was in Subiaco or East Fremantle or Guildford, which is great as I feel like it elicits people’s memories perhaps of their own grandparents’ house or the feeling and scents of various suburbs rather than just being a realistic rendition of one house and one house only. Similarly, a lot of people are convinced they know the guy waiting with his child at the bus stop in Day 10. Nobody has said he looks like me though, because he’s too good-looking.

Where are you planning to head off to next? And where would be a dream location?
We’d love to go back to South America because the people there are the coolest in the world, and Europe should be on the cards too because I have a thing for drawing windows and they’ve got loads. We might head to the Pacific soon, and check out the Cook Islands but nothing has been confirmed. We’re excited about announcing the next location shortly!

Any travel tips?
Always pack loads of undies. You never know.

Anything else?
We really hope people can come visit us at the markets and chat about their travels!

The 31 Days In exhibition at HOT SOUP  wraps up tomorrow so be sure to check it out between now and then at 10 William Street, Fremantle. Also, if you wish to purchase some of their prints they will be at the Etsy Made Local market and Mega Market Place – all time and location details on the hipflask app. Prints come on beautiful Watercolour art paper for $30, and can be framed at the market for just the price of the frame on top.

Check out their Etsy here, or Facebook or instagram.

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